Middle Age Hollywood

Why is White Collar star Tim DeKay horsing around in Central Park?

It is all a part of Neal & Peter's on-going quest to track down the man behind the music box in the second half of season two ... coming in January)



And in a new interview with NYPost.com's PopWrap, Tim talks about the shocking finale and what fans can expect from the new episodes. This, being my favorite part:

PW: What's coming up in January?
Tim: Fans can look forward to more interesting capers that challenge and examine Neal’s relationship with Peter in both a comedic and dramatic fashion. As far as the anthology of the music box, there are some very interesting plot twists coming up. And also, we are going to have a flashback episode. That will give us some answers as to what is going on with the music box and what it could lead to.

PW: Really? Is it stand-alone or involving the cast?
Tim: It involves Peter, Neal and the first time they see each other. You'll see Liz in the flashback too. Both the flashbacks are tied into the music box and the mastermind behind it all.

PW: How far back does it go? Any need for unfortunate de-aging costumes?
Tim: It goes back about seven years and if you remember in one of the episodes there was a picture of Peter in a moustache … so unfortunately we see Peter in a moustache again.

Tim DeKay: Even I was shocked by the 'White Collar' finale

The summer finale of "White Collar" ended with a bang -- both literally and figuratively. Not only was Mozzie shot square in the chest during the episode's closing moment, but fans watched as Peter & Neal's relationship -- which truly became a partnership this year -- crumbled under the weight of one terrible, horrible, no good, very bad decision Neal made.

To make sense of it all, I rang up star Tim DeKay to get his take on the finale events, what fans can expect from January's new episodes and why Peter's much mocked moustache will be resurrected.

Warning: spoilers

PopWrap: What was your reaction to Mozzie getting shot in the finale's final moment?
Tim DeKay: When I first read it, I thought, “finally, I don’t have to work with Willie Garson any more!” [laughs] No, when I first read it I thought two things: one, that is a hell of a cliffhanger, but in terms of the story, it made me realize that whatever is behind this music box – or whatever it leads us to – has to be some phenomenal thing.

PW: I kinda feel like fans of Mozzie's shouldn't be too worried though, right?
Tim: [laughs] Oh, I’m not one to answer that. Suffice it to say, there is a very interesting resolution in January.

PW: So when new episodes return in January, will we pick up exactly where we left off?
Tim: Yes, chronologically we pick up right after that shooting and the season will keep chugging along. There will be episodes that address the mythology heavier than others, while others will just be lightly touched upon, the way the first half of this season went.

PW: While the shooting was definitely attention grabbing, I think the real cliffhanger involves the future of Neal and Peter's relationship given how seriously Neal lied.
Tim: Yes, definitely. Just when Peter thought he was getting close to Neal, he went and did something that was very unwise. When you’re close to someone and they slip-up like that, it affects you. And I think Peter was really personally affected by that. They have some repairing to do.

PW: Peter is a pretty decent guy, but he strikes me as someone who forgives but doesn't forget. Would you agree?
Tim: That’s a great way to put it – he will never forget. And I don’t know if he’ll ever trust Neal 100 percent again. I don’t think he can. I also think if he just has 100 percent trust for Neal – and if Neal has 100 percent trust for Peter – the show loses a great tension. That being said, there are areas where he trusts Neal completely -- I think that both of them would fall on a grenade for the other. And Peter has done that several times by jeopardizing his position as an FBI agent for Neal.

PW: The finale also introduced the character of Julian Larson, who is a player in the music box conspiracy and shot Mozzie. Will he become a big foe for the boys in these next 12 episodes?
Tim: You’ll see more of Larson in the coming episodes, yes, but as Fowler has said, there are bigger people pulling strings. That character will be back – we’ll meet him again – but we’ll meet other characters who are part of that tangled web.

PW: What else would you tease about the second half of season two?
Tim: Well, I'm riding a horse through Central Park today, so there's that [laughs]. I will say that Tiffani [Thiessen, who plays Peter's wife Elizabeth] will be back full time [she was on maternity leave for much of this season]. No more green screen!

PW: And what about Peter & Neal's relationship?
Tim: Fans can look forward to more interesting capers that challenge and examine Neal’s relationship with Peter in both a comedic and dramatic fashion. As far as the anthology of the music box, there are some very interesting plot twists coming up. And also, we are going to have a flashback episode. That will give us some answers as to what is going on with the music box and what it could lead to.

PW: Really? Is it stand-alone or involving the cast?
Tim: It involves Peter, Neal and the first time they see each other. You'll see Liz in the flashback too. Both the flashbacks are tied into the music box and the mastermind behind it all.

PW: How far back does it go? Any need for unfortunate de-aging costumes?
Tim: It goes back about seven years and if you remember in one of the episodes there was a picture of Peter in a moustache … so unfortunately we see Peter in a moustache again.

Source: nypost